Gaby Winters' life used to be pretty normal. She lived with her best friend. She worked in a library. She was slowly getting over the death of her twin brother, Jude. And then Rafa came looking for her. With him, her blood-soaked nightmares stopped. But now they are reality. She is one of the Rephaim - a wingless half angel, descended from the Fallen. Demons exist and they are hunting her. She knows she's alive when she's meant to be dead. And that means maybe Jude is too. So why isn't she out there looking for him?

Because I really enjoyed the first book of Paula Weston's Rephaim series Shadows, I was eager to read the second book Haze. Now that I finally have, I am happy to say that Haze was, if not better than, just as good as Shadows with its addicting, thrilling, and interesting plot and awesome characters.

I really liked the plot of Haze more so than I did Shadows' plot mainly because the world-building was did and done in Shadows, and so in Haze, the story line was much more focused on the characters' interactions and dramas. I was glad to finally get to "hang out" with the characters of the Rephaim series again. I really learned more about them from reading Haze. In my mind, they became more than Fallen angels' half-offsprings and gradually grew into real, albeit superhuman, beings who were as emotional and scared as any other person and were struggling to find their place and purpose on Earth.

I also really liked the romance that continued on from Shadows and into Haze. Again, it was not a huge focus in the plotline; save for a few short, steamy-ish moments and some heart-to-heart moments--all of which I enjoyed reading--the story was nonetheless mainly about Gaby continuing her search for her twin brother Jude as well as her lost memories. I rooted for the couple all throughout Haze as much as I did in Shadows. Haze also included the start of and the continuation of other romances between the other, secondary characters, however, I, personally, was not fully convinced by those couples' love, maybe because I didn't pay much attention to them or didn't know enough about the characters themselves yet to really agree and root for them as well. Nonetheless, Weston once again did a great job of balancing her novel between the actual, thrilling conflict and the romances amongst her characters.

I'm super excited to read the next book Shimmer of the Rephaim series; Haze ended just as unexpectedly (yet nicely) as Shadows, making me turn to the next page and immediately exclaim "What?!" out loud when I found it was the last page of the book. I need to know what happens next!

If you haven't yet read Shadows, I recommend that you do, especially if you like paranormal YA or just want a change of pace like I did when I began the Rephaim series. Paula Weston's writing flows so nicely and her stories have a great and interesting balance between suspense, romance, action, and insight. If you have read Shadows but haven't yet picked up Haze, I recommend that you do as soon as possible because you need it in your life. Seriously. It is just as suspenseful and action-packed as Shadows and you won't be disappointed.

Happy reading everyone,

Leslie

P.S. And, once more, if you missed my interview with Gaby, you can find it here. We talked about her current favorites, her celebrity doppelganger and her bucket list.